SHEN YUN PERFORMING ARTS REVIEWS

Professional Dancer Brought to Tears by Shen Yun’s Performance: ‘It’s Expressing a Story Without Words’

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Professional Dancer Brought to Tears by Shen Yun’s Performance: ‘It’s Expressing a Story Without Words’
Professional dancer Jessica Oliver watched Shen Yun Performing Arts at the AT&T Performing Arts Center–Winspear Opera House, Dallas, on Dec. 30, 2023. Yeawen Hung/The Epoch Times
DALLAS—Dance is often hailed as a universal language that has the power to transcend cultural barriers and touch people’s hearts. As a dancer herself, Jessica Oliver understands this all too well. Ms. Oliver watched Shen Yun Performing Arts for the first time at the Winspear Opera House, AT&T Performing Arts Center, on Dec. 30 and found herself moved to tears early into the program.

“I wanted to be a part of it … it just really drew me in,” she said. “At certain parts, the dancers ... that was the only thing that existed. It was a lot of fun, and it made me cry a lot.”

Based in New York and the world’s top classical Chinese dance and music company, Shen Yun was founded in 2006 by a group of leading Chinese artists who wished to show the world how beautiful traditional Chinese culture was before the Chinese Communist Party destroyed it. Since its inception, Shen Yun has grown from one to eight equally-sized companies that tour the world simultaneously.

Ms. Oliver, who received tickets to the performance as a Christmas gift, said watching Shen Yun’s dancers reminded her of her own passion for dancing. She has been a gold medalist in Europe, Latin America, and the United States during her own dancing career.

“I love it, I do,” she said. “There’s really no words to express what I feel because it was really moving for me … It really drew me in. It’s dancing, it’s a story, it’s history, it’s what brings a lot of people together.”

Ms. Oliver said that she saw values in Shen Yun’s performance that she finds very relevant for today’s young people.

“[Shen Yun] tells a history, and their culture is definitely a culture that is built on respect and honor, and you just don’t see that nowadays,” she observed. “It’s what people would call kind of ‘old school,’ especially here in the United States—it’s really … moving to see the honor and respect that they give either each other or their elders—it’s something that a lot of young people could really learn, especially nowadays.”

As a fellow dancer, Ms. Oliver said that she could see how much dancing meant to the performers on stage and praised the dancers’ effortless energy and the elegance of their movements.

“It’s more than just stories; it’s more than just going through motions and actions,” she said, noting the significance and power of dance. “It’s expressing a story without words.”

“It’s definitely a show that I would come back and see again.”

Reporting by Yeawen Hung and Wandi Zhu.
The Epoch Times is a proud sponsor of Shen Yun Performing Arts. We have covered audience reactions since Shen Yun’s inception in 2006.
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